WJ: Yep, I discuss that in the full post over at Midtopia.

I tend to agree that Bush is likely to lose if the confrontation goes to court, but it’s by no means certain. Especially because the issue involves the hiring and firing of political appointees. The court *could* rule that the president can use any criteria — or none at all — in such firings.

Given the special nature of U.S. attorneys, I would hope the courts wouldn’t green light blatant politicization of the justice system. But they might, choosing to follow logic out the window.

As you can see, there are lots of precedents to suggest that the Supreme Court (even, or perhaps especially, those justices on the conservative end of the current Court) would uphold the Congress. IF Congress goes that route, and I suspect they may, Bush has escalated a battle that he will almost certainly lose.

Once executive privilege is asserted, coequal branches of the Government are set on a collision course. The Judiciary is forced into the difficult task of balancing the need for information in a judicial proceeding and the Executive’s Article II prerogatives. This inquiry places courts in the awkward position of evaluating the Executive’s claims of confidentiality and autonomy, and pushes to the fore difficult questions of separation of powers and checks and balances. These ‘occasion[s] for constitutional confrontation between the two branches’ are likely to be avoided whenever possible